Bottomless In-Ground Water Conservation and Contamination Prevention Garden-Plant Watering-Well

ABSTRACT

An in-ground plant container with watering-well that is open at both ends and is functional and decorative. The above ground portion in this present embodiment has a round bowl shaped water well and broad rounded lip for ease of gripping and placing in an appropriate sized hole. The bowl of the watering-well keeps the plant container above ground. The bottom, below ground portion, has vertical fins for lateral stability in the soil. This embodiment also has an outer horizontal flange at its base for prevention against vertical lifting due to soil movement and for permanent placement. The above ground portion of the plant container watering-well can be wider than the base and replaces the organic soil-watering-well. This in-ground plant container with watering-well is for conserving water, and the containment of water contaminated by pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This present embodiment relates to bottomless garden plant containersand, more particularly, to a bottomless garden plant container thatconserves water and prevents unwanted water waste, including theprevention of pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer contamination due touncontrolled water runoff.

BACKGROUND

Every day there is someone somewhere watering a plant in their garden;and along with them are the gardening enthusiasts, who out of love fortheir little botanical friends, are diligently applying fertilizers,pesticides, and herbicides. One outcome that these well-meaning groupscan have in common is this: more often-than-not they watch helplessly asmuch of the needed water, and gardening additives, flow to surroundingareas and away from the plant for which they were intended; and intoday's world water has become a commodity, and its conservation is ofthe utmost importance.

There have been attempts at correcting this seemingly universal problemfor gardeners for many years and the most common solution was to buildup a bowl shaped mound of soil around the base of the plant (commonlyreferred to as a watering-well)to contain the water long enough for itto percolate down to the plant's roots. A few of the other solutions arethe use of mulches piled around the plant in the hopes of retainingmoisture; or stones sunk into the soil around the plant as a border, orto simply place the plant several inches below ground level.

Unfortunately the aforementioned so-called solutions, along with manyothers generally fail soon after their implementation. The soilwatering-wells tend to absorb water laterally as well as gravitationallyand by the very act of watering are eroded away and as the soil surfacegets drier water has less time to saturate before it becomes wastefulrunoff and oftentimes, taking with it, gardening chemicals such asfertilizers, pesticides, herbicides.

Mulch mounds are not much better at solving the issue—in fact they canexacerbate the problem of garden chemical products like pesticides andherbicide runoff. Mulches are breeding grounds for pests like earwigsand pill-bugs to name a few, which encourages greater use of pesticideswhich then accumulates in the mulches; and mulches tend to float, andflow, with water runoff from over watering and large downpours of rain.These so-called solution failures are typical of the other solutions aswell as those not mentioned. The worst consequence of these runoffs isthe gardening chemicals used to help grow and protect our garden plantscan end up flowing into street gutters, streams, ponds and otherenvironmentally sensitive areas.

Although there are various methods of trying to prevent water andchemical runoff, all, or almost all suffer from one, or more than onedisadvantage. Therefore, there is a need to provide methods andapparatus for improved and more secure methods for the prevention ofwasteful water runoff, and the containment of useful gardening products,to prevent them from becoming a detriment and danger to theirsurrounding environments.

As long as there are plants and water there will be gardening; andgardening is here stay, and it can be done more effectively andenvironmentally friendly.

PRIOR ART

The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appearsrelevant:

I am aware of U.S. Pat. No. US 2009/0025290 A1, Jan. 29, 2009,Bottomless Plant Container which was issued to Ball HorticulturalCompany for growing plants in an open-bottom plant container.

I am, also aware of prior art U.S. Pat. No.: US 2002/0005011 A1 issuedto Lauri and David Goldberg Jan. 17, 2002 Bottomless CompartmentalizedIn-Ground Garden Container.

SHORTCOMINGS OF OTHER SOLUTIONS

U.S. Pat. No. U.S. 2009/0025290 A1 Open-bottom plant container is atemporary biodegradable container for transporting rooted plants forplacing in their final growing site. These products are designed as onlytemporary containers; whereas this present embodiment of the BottomlessIn-Ground Water Conservation and Contamination Prevention Garden-PlantWatering-Well is for permanent use.

Also it is neither taught nor suggested that U.S. Pat. No. US2009/0025290 A1 Bottomless Plant Container is so designed as to conservewater and/or prevent the runoff of gardening chemicals or products.

U.S. Pat. No.: US 2002/0005011 A1: What is disclosed is a gardencontainer that includes a rigid outer wall defining a perimeter andhaving opposite upper and lower edges around the perimeter. Its outerand inner circular walls and intersecting walls are so designed to sliceinto the soil. It is neither taught nor suggested that this bottomlesscontainer is so designed as to conserve water and/or prevent the runoffof gardening chemicals or products. It is also stated that the “. . .container may be manually placed or depressed into the soil until therim of the container is generally flush with the soil surface,” (excerptfrom Summary of the Invention)

Unfortunately being flush with the soil allows for wasteful waterrunoff, chemical contamination of surrounding areas and the dispersionof other gardening products. This prior art bottomless garden containeris subject to vertical movement, both upwards and downwards, which couldresult in all or portions of the container sinking below ground leveland it is neither taught nor suggested that this device was designed toprevent that from happening.

ADVANTAGES OF PRESENT EMBODIMENT

Thus several advantages of one or more aspects would be to provide abottomless in-ground plant container that conserves water via the use ofa non-eroding watering-well.

Other advantages of one or more aspects are to provide a bottomlessin-ground plant container watering-well that can be both decorative andfunctional.

It would further be advantageous to provide a bottomless in-ground plantcontainer watering-well that helps protects its surrounding environmentsfrom harmful herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizer runoff.

It would also be advantageous to have a bottomless in-ground plantcontainer watering-well that protects plants and flowers from grasstrimmers above ground and help prevent unwanted weeds and grass rhizomesbelow ground.

It would further be advantages to have a bottomless in-ground plantcontainer watering-well that encourages earthworm growth and populationfor plant and soil health.

It would also be advantages to have a bottomless in-ground plantcontainer watering-well that directs water to flow downward to theplants roots instead of flowing away from the roots and across thesoil's surface.

These and other advantages of one or more aspects will become apparentfrom a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanyingdrawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present embodiment of the Bottomless In-GroundWater Conservation and Contamination Prevention Garden PlantWatering-Well, there is provided an in-ground plant container that isopen at both ends and is functional and decorative. One aspect of thisembodiment of the above ground portion in this present embodiment has around bowl shaped water well and broad rounded lip for ease of grippingand placing in an appropriate sized hole. The broad rounded lip alsooffers protection for plant stalks and leaves. The below ground bottomportion has vertical fins for lateral stability in the soil. Thisparticular bottomless in-ground plant container watering-well embodimentincludes an outer horizontal flange at the base for: a) preventionagainst vertical lifting due to soil movement; b) for permanentplacement. The above ground portion of the plant containerwatering-well's bowl is wider than the below ground base and replaces asoil watering-well and keeps watering-well safely above ground level. Inanother aspect of the embodiment an optional clear convex lid snaps onover a bottomless in-ground plant container watering-well to create amini-greenhouse for things such as: early starting of seedlings; orpreservation of bulbs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present embodiment may be obtained byreference to the accompanying drawings, when considered in conjunctionwith the subsequent, detailed description, in which:

FIG. 110 is a front perspective view of a plant container watering-wellembodiment with one aspect showing the use of a cover;

FIG. 112 is a top perspective view of a top perspective of oneembodiment of a plant container watering-well with a bottom flange;

FIG. 114 is a top perspective view of an aspect of one embodiment plantcontainer watering-well without a bottom flange;

FIG. 116 is a bottom perspective view of a bottom perspective of anembodiment of the plant container watering-well aspect without thebottom flange; and

FIG. 118 is a front detail view of an aspect of this plant containerwatering-well embodiment being used as a mini-greenhouse.

FIG. 120 is a diagram comparison detailing the effects of water'spotentials affecting soil watering-wells and plant health in contrast toa non-soil watering-well.

For purposes of clarity and brevity, like elements and components willbear the same designations and numbering throughout the Figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT

Before this first embodiment of a Bottomless In-Ground WaterConservation and Contamination Prevention Garden-Plant Watering-Well,along with its methods are disclosed and described, it is to beunderstood that this first embodiment is not limited to the particularconfigurations, sizes, and materials disclosed herein as suchconfigurations, sizes, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to beunderstood that the terminology employed is used for the purpose ofdescribing this particular embodiment and is not intended to belimiting; however, for brevity's sake throughout the description,Bottomless In-Ground Water Conservation and Contamination PreventionGarden-Plant Watering-Well, will be referenced simply as: watering-well.

FIG. 110 is a front perspective view of a watering-well in accordancewith the present embodiment. Watering-wells may be fabricated ofplastics, metals or any other suitable materials, moreover thewatering-well in this embodiment is circular, but in alternateembodiments it can be shaped as a rectangle, square or any othergeometrical shape or any organic shape or configuration deemed to beaesthetically pleasing or advantageous. This particular embodiment, savefor the optional clear plastic cover 120, is of a single unifiedconstruction which will be apparent to those skilled in the art ofplastic fabrication. Watering-wells can have their above-groundportion's outer circumference greater than the below-ground portion'scircumference as in the case of this present embodiment. Watering-wellsgenerally will have their above ground portion that makes up the bowl ofthe watering-well to have an approximate height of around 3 inches toinsure suitable water volume and to act as a plant guard for ease oftrimmer use during routine lawn maintenance.

An optional durable flexible clear plastic cover 120 can be snapped on,and popped off, to allow a gardener to start seeds, or place seedlingsin a protected environment. The watering-well lip 122 in this presentembodiment has an approximate diameter of 16″ and is rounded for ease ofhandling, placing, and strength; the lip also works as an additionaldefense to prevent the watering-well from sinking level to, or below,ground level should an embodiment not incorporate the horizontalstabilizer flange 130 at the base of the well barrel 126. Thewatering-well bowl 124, is the actual replacement for its organiccounterpart the soil watering-well. Its approximate above-ground heightin this embodiment is 3″, its diameter 13″ thus safely allowing for a 2″high volume of water (1.5 US gallons). The well barrel 126 incorporatesthe below-ground portion of the watering-well; in this embodiment itsapproximate height is 6″ with a diameter of 10″ allowing for 0.3 cubicfeet of existing soil or new potting materials. Attached to the barrelare four evenly spaced vertical stabilizer fins 128, these are toprevent lateral rotation in circular embodiments of the watering-wells.A horizontal stabilizer flange 130, approximately 1″ in width isattached to the bottom well barrel's 126 outer base circumference.

FIG. 112 is a top perspective view of a figure and shows the presentembodiment with a horizontal stabilizer flange 130. The stabilizerflange works to help in the prevention of the watering-well from upwardmovement and is also useful for watering-wells that are to bepermanently placed.

FIG. 114 is a top perspective view of a figure and shows an aspect ofone embodiment without a horizontal stabilizer flange 130. This figurewithout the stabilizer flange is useful for watering-wells that would beused in a temporary planting area. Embodiments without the bottomstabilizer flange will typically have their above-ground portion's outercircumference greater than the below-ground portion's circumference toprevent the watering-well from sinking to, or below, ground-level.

FIG. 116 is a bottom perspective view and shows an embodiment withoutthe horizontal stabilizer flange 130.

FIG. 118 is a front detail view of a figure showing one aspect of theembodiment used as a small greenhouse.

FIG. 120 is a diagram comparison detailing the effects of water'spotentials affecting soil watering-wells and plant health in contrast toa non-soil watering-well.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operatingrequirements and environments will be apparent to those skilled in theart, the invention is not considered limited to the examples chosen forpurposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications whichdo not constitute departures from the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected byLetters Patent is presented in the subsequently appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bottomless in-ground water conservation andcontamination prevention garden-plant watering-well for conservingwater, and containment of water contaminated by pesticides, herbicides,and fertilizers, comprising: means for providing a handhold for thisembodiment of the plant container watering-well and a smooth place forplant leaves, stems, and stalks to rest on; means for providing a wellfor the water and also to provide stabilizing on soil surface. (see FIG.118), permanently molded to said means for providing a handhold for thisembodiment of the plant container watering-well and a smooth place forplant leaves, stems, and stalks to rest on; means for preventinghorizontal rotation of circular aspects of the embodiment and thisaspect of the embodiment has 4 fins; means for providing directeddownward flow of water and also area for roots, permanently molded tosaid means for preventing horizontal rotation of circular aspects of theembodiment and this aspect of the embodiment has 4 fins, and permanentlymolded to said means for providing a well for the water and also toprovide stabilizing on soil surface. (See FIG. 118); means forpreventing upward and downward movement of this aspect of the embodimentand also providing for a more permanent aspect of the plant containerwatering-well, permanently connected to said means for providingdirected downward flow of water and also area for roots; and means forproviding a non-permanent aspect to his embodiment by not having thebottom flange.
 2. The bottomless in-ground water conservation andcontamination prevention garden-plant watering-well in accordance withclaim 1, wherein said means for providing a handhold for this embodimentof the plant container watering-well and a smooth place for plantleaves, stems, and stalks to rest on comprises a rounded water well lip.3. The bottomless in-ground water conservation and contaminationprevention garden-plant watering-well in accordance with claim 1,wherein said means for providing a well for the water and also toprovide stabilizing on soil surface. (See FIG. 118) comprises a widenedshallow bowl watering-well bowl.
 4. The bottomless in-ground waterconservation and contamination prevention garden-plant watering-well inaccordance with claim 1, wherein said means for preventing horizontalrotation of circular aspects of the embodiment and this aspect of theembodiment has 4 fins comprises a stabilizer fin.
 5. The bottomlessin-ground water conservation and contamination prevention garden-plantwatering-well in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means forproviding directed downward flow of water and also area for rootscomprises a well barrel.
 6. The bottomless in-ground water conservationand contamination prevention garden-plant watering-well in accordancewith claim 1, wherein said means for preventing upward and downwardmovement of this aspect of the embodiment and also providing for a morepermanent aspect of the plant container watering-well comprises a flangearound the outside edge of barrel horizontal stabilizer flange.
 7. Thebottomless in-ground water conservation and contamination preventiongarden-plant watering-well in accordance with claim 1, wherein saidmeans for providing a non-permanent aspect to his embodiment by nothaving the bottom flange comprises a watering-well without bottomflange.
 8. A bottomless in-ground water conservation and contaminationprevention garden-plant watering-well for conserving water, andcontainment of water contaminated by pesticides, herbicides, andfertilizers, comprising: a clear plastic cover, for providing an aspectof this embodiment of the plant container watering-well to be used asmini-greenhouse; a rounded water well lip, for providing a handhold forthis embodiment of the plant container watering-well and a smooth placefor plant leaves, stems, and stalks to rest on, temporally connected tosaid clear plastic cover; a widened shallow bowl watering-well bowl, forproviding a well for the water and also to provide stabilizing on soilsurface. (See FIG. 118), permanently molded to said water well lip; astabilizer fin, for preventing horizontal rotation of circular aspectsof the embodiment and this aspect of the embodiment has 4 fins; a wellbarrel, for providing directed downward flow of water and also area forroots, permanently molded to said stabilizer fin, and permanently moldedto said watering-well bowl; a flange around the outside edge of barrelhorizontal stabilizer flange, for preventing upward and downwardmovement of this aspect of the embodiment and also providing for a morepermanent aspect of the plant container watering-well, permanentlyconnected to said well barrel; and a watering-well without bottomflange, for providing a non-permanent aspect to his embodiment by nothaving the bottom flange.